Review of Sevmorput icebreaker

NS Sevmorput ("атомный ледокол Севморпуть") is a Russian nuclear icebreaker. "NS" stands for "nuclear ship". The vessel is state-owned (by the Russian Federation) and operated by Atomflot. The Atomflot company provides all Russian nuclear icebreakers with maintenance and technological services. The company also serves the country's special vessels fleet.

One of the largest Russian icebreaker ships, Sevmorput is a nuclear-powered LASH (lighter aboard ship) cargo carrier and container ship. The vessel's building cost was nearly USD 265 million. Sevmorput is named after the Northern Sea Route ("Северный Морской Путь") on which the ship operates year-round.

In October 2012 was announced that the nuclear cargo ship would be decommissioned and scrapped. The decision was reversed in December 2013. However, as of 2015, the vessel is laid up at Atomflot base near Murmansk (Kola Peninsula, Barents Sea). Ut returned to service in February 2016.

Immediately after its launch, the icebreaker was denied entry to major seaports in the USSR's Far East. Port authorities of Vostochny, Nakhodka, Vladivostok and Magadan refused to accept the 2-month-old vessel. The reason were civil protests caused by uncertainty about the safety of its nuclear power plant as the Chernobyl disaster happened only 2 years earlier (April 26, 1986). Finally, on March 13, 1989, Sevmorput was allowed to dock at Vladivostok.

The ship was used mainly on the cargo shipping route between Murmansk and Dudinka, but also made several sailings to Vietnam. As of 2016, the Sevmorput icebreaker's itinerary program offers services as a floating laboratory resource support for the Arctic.

Russia's nuclear fleet of ice-breaking vessels is used exclusively in the Arctic Ocean for escorting merchant ships and assisting research stations floating in the ice-covered waters north of Siberia. These ships are also used for scientific and Arctic cruise expeditions. The Russian nuclear ice-breakers must sail in ice-cold waters to effectively cool their reactors.

The vessel also has two 3-ton auxiliary cranes. When not carrying lighters, NS Sevmorput can carry 20- and 40-foot containers (up to 20,3 and 30,5 tons) in 3 layers. The total container capacity is 1328 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).

Note: In case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.